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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

The Envoy's Objective, Part 2

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Surely he must have some sort of scheme?」

「No, I don't think he was claiming anything particularly strange...」

It had already been an hour since Kyle was told to stay at the castle. The castle's dignitaries were just arguing back and forth, and Cross could only sigh.

「I still can't help but feel there's an ulterior motive for him coming without prior notice.」

「It wouldn't do any good to deliberately make us suspicious.」

「Was it necessary for him to do so, even at that risk?」

Like this, the discussion continued endlessly along parallel lines, and nothing was getting settled.

「Hmph! If you try to be suspicious, you can be as suspicious as you want!」

However, everyone was startled and looked at the man who raised his voice from the bottom of his stomach while sitting heavily in his chair at the meeting.

Of course, their gaze was on Duke Halburn. Although the Duke had a smiling expression, his beard was fluffing up with the breath he expelled forcefully from his nose.

Whether the Duke himself was conscious of it or not, many people must have felt strangely disarmed seeing him like that.

「...That is true. It is as Duke Halburn says.」

Of course, Cross was no exception.

「Rather than arguing, first we must investigate the facts. We will dispatch a Spirit Master to Mount Vidrast, and after that, I will hear everyone's opinions again.」

***

Finally alone, Cross unconsciously rubbed his brow. He managed to suppress a sigh that was about to escape and called out toward the door, 「Elna.」

「You may enter now.」

The door opened slowly, and then apricot-colored hair peeked through. Suddenly, Cross felt as if even his exhaustion was vanishing.

「Am I interrupting?」

「No problem. More importantly.」

There are conversations he can only have with her. Elna must have been thinking the same thing as Cross. She had noticed it too. Elna nodded and quickly closed the door behind her. 「You can stay,」 she said to the spirit in the form of a hamster on her shoulder. The spirit tilted its head quizzically.

「Kylevis... no, about that person named Kyle.」

「Right. I think he is undoubtedly the reincarnation of Kylevis, but what about you, Elna?」

「I think so too. But even if he is a reincarnation, his appearance shouldn't be that similar, so I don't understand that part.」

「It could be a coincidence, mere chance. We could dismiss it with such words... or perhaps he is a descendant.」

「Of Kylevis?」

Elna blinked her blue eyes in surprise, but then put her hand to her mouth in thought, saying, 「Oh, I see.」

「Kylevis didn't have any children, but he did have relatives. The Kingdom of Marls was originally a region of Wizrain...」

「It's just a possibility. But honestly, the appearance doesn't matter. The problem is...」

「Whether he has memories as Kylevis.」

Elna spoke, overlapping with Cross's words.

「Exactly. I felt that he didn't. What about you, Elna?」

「I think so too. ...Being reincarnated and retaining memories isn't normally a healthy thing. If he is enjoying life in a new form, I am happy... but I was originally here for a different purpose, right? To find out if the Kingdom of Marls came here after hearing rumors of the Dragon. With Kylevis here, the objective seems to have shifted a bit, though.」

Although Elna smiled wryly, she must have been surprised. Cross could understand that feeling.

「I honestly don't know if he came knowing the rumors of the Dragon. But I don't think he knows for sure that I am the reincarnation of the Dragon—Elnalfia. Our eyes met once. But he looked away immediately. There was nothing unnatural about it.」

「I see... I should say that reduces one concern.」

He was relieved that at least they hadn't come targeting Elna specifically. Sighing, he rested his elbows on the desk and pressed his forehead. Elna didn't say anything more either. There was a long pause. Then, one of them—it wasn't clear who—shook their shoulders. 「Heh,」 the first sound probably came from Cross. But soon Elna was also desperately stifling uncontrollable laughter, 「Hf, hehe, hehehe.」

Elna and Cross laughed together, holding their sides.

「Why? Kylevis? I never expected to meet him in a place like this!」

「He's always done unexpected things since the old days, but to think he'd do it even after being reincarnated! No, this is no time to be laughing...」

「It really, really isn't, though! Um, Kylevis was also the one who made that ancient artifact where tea pours out of both the pot and the cup, right? He was amazing, but also kind of unpredictable.」

Kylevis was an inventor with rare talent, and even now, the barrier covering the sky above Wizrain Castle uses an ancient artifact created by Kylevis. It has the flaw of deactivating when it rains, but even setting that aside, its performance is more than sufficient.

「That pot he made because he wanted to have a tea party with Elnalfia, right? But did you know? He actually hated tea.」

Cross told Elna, covering his mouth with his hand as if whispering a secret. 「No way, really?」「Unfortunately, yes,」 Cross nodded solemnly. After a few seconds of silence, the two burst into laughter again.

「And yet he made it! I mean, that boy really is...」

「Yes. He was a strange guy... However, Elna. I think you understand, but Kylevis and that envoy are ultimately different people.」

At that moment, the air seemed to go silent. Elna's sky-blue eyes wavered with a slight hint of loneliness.

「...Yeah, that's right.」

「Even if he is a reincarnation, he is a different person.」

「I know.」

「Do not forget that sufficient caution is necessary.」

「I said I know.」

Elna smiled slightly, a wry smile. Perhaps it wasn't necessary to go this far. But Cross felt he should say it rather than regret it later.

「...In any case, whether his purpose is as he says or if there is something else... I cannot judge yet. Even if he came to investigate the Dragon, it is a stroke of luck if he does not know about you. It would be better not to make a fuss and spend your days as usual.」

Spend the days as usual.

Elna moved the broom handle while recalling Cross's words. Every time she did, it made a shaka sound, and the fallen petals gathered fluffily. The spirits were dancing dum-doko dum-doko at Elna's feet. Whether it's the Hamster Spirit or the others, why do they start dancing whenever they have free time?

Setting that aside, Elna thought back on Cross's words while cleaning the garden shaka, shaka. "As usual" of course applied only to Elna; right about now, Cross was probably investigating the Kingdom of Marls, sparing no time for sleep.

「Hmm...」

Resting her chin on the broom handle, she thought about what to do.

「I wish there was something I could do...」

If only there were.

But perhaps even thinking that was presumptuous. In matters between nations, there probably aren't many things that can be solved by power alone. For example, if it were just Elna, she could immediately set out to investigate Mount Vidrast, but while she knows a lot about spirits, she is just an amateur regarding mines and gems. Even if she has an eye for magic power, she cannot identify the origin of a stone. Also, showing Elna's power might just cause unnecessary commotion.

As much as she wanted to help Cross, she wished not to be a burden to him.

「...Surprisingly, there's not much I can do.」

That's something one learns just by living as a human, though.

Swallowing her frustration, she opened her eyes, which she had closed without realizing, and saw the spirits circling around her with a zun-doko zun-doko rhythm. She looked down at them silently, thinking they didn't have to circle so blatantly. Of course, the Hamster Spirit was showing off the sharpest dance moves among them. Zun-doko ham-ham. Zun-doko gonsu.

The place Elna is currently in is just a courtyard of the castle, unlike the garden from which the large tree called the Great Tree of Kiarore can be seen from anywhere. Since the first maid job she was assigned was the corridor passing through the courtyard, it somehow became Elna's jurisdiction.

Elna looked down at the spirits with an indescribable smile, but when she looked up to work, 「Ah,」 a gust of wind blew. The petals she had gone to the trouble of collecting flowed into the wind, swelling across her entire field of vision, and disappeared rustling away.

Next, what appeared beyond the flowing petals was a slender man with silver hair. Kylevis, no, the envoy from the Kingdom of Marls, Kyle.

Kyle, who was beyond the arch, didn't seem to notice Elna, but he called out to Noma, who was heading this way to help Elna, and the two seemed to be conversing. However, the mood gradually turned suspicious, and Noma shouted something at Kyle, moved her shoulders angrily, and came over to Elna.

「...Did something happen?」

「Something did happen! What is with that man!」

When asked, Noma immediately raised her eyebrows and looked back, but Kyle was no longer there. That seemed to increase her anger even more. 「I don't know, but he asked all sorts of things about the castle. I thought he was lost, but it doesn't seem like it. There's no way I'd just spill information about the castle like that!」 she opened her eyes and mouth wide, 「Is he making fun of the castle maids!?」 and was completely furious.

「About the castle, all sorts of things...」

「Yes! Like what's over there. Or where this is... Hey, what is that person? I haven't seen his face before. Is he a noble or something?」

It seems news of the envoy from the Kingdom of Marls hasn't reached Noma's ears yet. However, that would likely be a matter of time. But thinking it wasn't something Elna should speak of, she could only give a disinterested reply, 「Who knows...」

Before she knew it, the dancing spirits had disappeared. Only the Hamster Spirit was staring intently with its black eyes at the path Kyle had left.

***

In the end, even without Elna saying anything, everyone in the castle soon knew about the lone envoy from the Kingdom of Marls.

After all, he appeared everywhere in the castle. He wandered around so unnecessarily that Jipi had even been seen chasing him, mistaking him for a suspicious person.

Furthermore, it seems he talks to anyone indiscriminately when he sees a maid, but actually, opinions on this point were divided among the maids. Some were suspicious like Noma, but there were also positive opinions that, although hard to see due to his long bangs, he had handsome features if looked at closely, and his atmosphere was gentle. However, it is a fact that more people found Kyle suspicious, and it seems even Cross gave him a warning, so recently fewer people said they had been spoken to at the castle.

Since Elna originally lived her life as a maid as usual to avoid meeting Kyle as much as possible, she only knew everything through rumors and didn't know anything in detail.

There was just a strange, floating sensation. Like not knowing if the path she was treading was correct or not. That kind of feeling.

If only she could fly.

Then there would be no need to walk on an uncertain path. But Elna can no longer fly. That is what she wished for. There is no regret in that.

Thump, Elna rolled over on the bed.

Her apricot-colored hair spread over the sheets. From the window of her room, she could see the honey-colored moon that seemed likely to melt into the night.

「White or black. I wish everything was clear.」

Then she might find a way to be of more help to Cross.

That murmur was supposed to be sucked into the dark night sky without anyone knowing. Elna slowly closed her eyes, and gradually the movement of her chest changed to regular breathing.

At this time, a single hamster popped out pyokon. Checking that Elna was asleep, 『Everything is...』 twitch twitch, moving its pink nose and whiskers in small increments, it peeked out from under the bed.

『Leave it to the hamster, gonsu!』

Actually, it's the beginning of the great adventure of a somewhat amazing hamster, no, the Hamster Spirit.